Cognitive Therapy to the rescue again!
According to an article by ChiChi Madu (what a great name) in the 2010 January/February Psychology Today, research by Wendy Mendes at Harvard University suggests that what you THINK about your nervousness determines whether being nervous works against you or for you.
Being nervous is, in itself, neither positive nor negative, as far as how it affects your performance.
The research at Harvard consisted of students who were taking the Graduate Record Exam. Acceptance into graduate school depends on your score on the GRE. Believe me, as one who took it, it makes you nervous.
By random assignment, 1/2 of the students were told that their nervousness "was positive and would improve their performance." 1/2 were not told anything.
POP QUIZ: Which group did better?
"The first group did much better than their counterparts."
From your experimental research class: what was the independent variable? Whether they were told that nervousness was positive. What was the dependent variable? How well they did on the test.
Both groups were nervous. Both took the same test. The difference was cognitive - what they THOUGHT about their nervousness.
So, nervous before your first psychology test? Thinking that your nevousness will help you, will help you. Nervous before your first bull ride of the rodeo season? Thinking that your nervousness will help you, will help you. Nervous before taking the tournament-winning free throw? Thinking that your nervousness will help you, will help you.
Nervous before asking that really cute girl sitting next to you on a date? Sorry, you're on your own there. Let me know how it works out for you.
January 7, 2010
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4 comments:
I'll have to remember this when I am taking the test for the Nursing Program. I really hope thinking of nervous will help me. I'll let ya know.
i wonder if the fact that half of these student knew that they would do good had something to do with it ive always heard that positive thinking results in positive things.
i am always called up in the clutch moment, bases loaded, two outs and losing by one in the last inning. thats when i am nervous the most but it helps me to perform better. when im nervous it means i am afraid to fail and i know i am not going to fail and let my team down. It has been proven!
Javier Olazagasti
General Psyc
:) I liked the end of this blog!
I'm always nervous before a test, or one of my speeches in speech class, but it helps to motivate me. I guess it's exactly how you say it is. If you can control your nervousness and let it benefit you, it's good, but if it runs away with you, your done for
Developmental Psyc.
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